The successful resuscitation of patients suffering from hypovolemic shock requires infusion of fluids at a very rapid rate. Hypovolemic shock, which may have been brought on secondary to intraoperative or possibly traumatic hemorrhage, must be treated aggressively by rapid administration of fluids, for example, crystalloids, blood products, colloids and the like. Reductions in physiological markers such as blood pressure, cardiac output and coronary blood flow may often lead to a reduction in tissue perfusion, organ damage, loss of kidney function and acidosis which, if left untreated, can result in physiologic changes which are often irreversible and sometimes fatal. As various products are infused in order to restore normal fluid volumes, it is most important to maintain normothermic conditions so as to avoid the occurrence of transfusion induced hypothermia. Prior artisans have incorporated various types of extracorporeal heat exchangers in an effort to maintain the infusate temperature at required levels, e.g. above about 37.degree. C. at flow rates of about 500 ml/minute, but such devices have proven inadequate to provide the 1000 ml/minute or more which is so often required. It should be understood that correction of this inadequacy is not so simple as resizing of the heater capacity as a function of flow rate and expected temperature change of the fluid. On the contrary, the problem stems from inadequate amperage capacity in existing facilities, making it virtually impossible to achieve the required heating capacity by utilization of facility provided power alone. Additionally, prior art devices have concentrated on the temperature of the infusate at the outlet of the heat exchanger, giving little regard to the heat lost in the connecting tubing which fluidly couples the heat exchanger to the patient. Thus, the infusate temperature, at the point of entry to the patient, is often below nominal design parameters.
While it is known to provide a fluid warming device which is alternatively powered by AC or DC current--in order to facilitate transport of a patient, e.g. from the ER to the operating room--no prior art device teaches or discloses the use of a battery source (DC power) as an amperage supplement to be used simultaneously with an AC power source, thereby enabling the heating of physiological fluids at a rate which surpasses that possible with AC alone.